The game of golf has been increasing in popularity for many years. Golf courses are being built throughout the world both as private clubs and as public facilities. The quality of course turf, greens and hazards have also increased as the players demand better and more attractive facilities. The increased play on the courses and the increased number of courses has placed in increased demand on the people and the equipment that are used to maintain the courses. The availability of skilled greenskeepers amd maintenance staff has placed a demand on the management of the courses for improved, more efficient and less labor intensive equipment for maintaining the courses. The present invention is directed to equipment for relieving that problem.
Golf is a game that is played to a set of rules; some of those rules apply to the construction of fairway, hazards and putting greens. One such set of rules is published in a booklet titles "THE RULES OF GOLF--as approved by THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION and THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB OF ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND" available from the USGA Order Department, P.O. Box 2000, Far Hills, N.J. 07931-2000. In those rules there are specific dimensions for putting cups and for the depth of placement of such putting cups. A hole as defined in the rules shall be 41/4 inches in diameter and at least 4 inches deep and if a lining is used, the lining shall be sunk at least 1 inch below the putting green. While not clearly stated in the rules, it is imperative that the putting cup be placed truly vertical in the putting green even though the putting green may slope with respect to the horizon. Hazards and particularly bunkers are defined in the rules; a bunker is defined as a hazard and as a prepared area of ground from which turf or soil has been removed and replaced with sand or the like. The players of the game, and particularly the tournament committees, have become more insistent on the quality of maintenance of the putting green, hazards and the course fairways. The placement of the cup on the putting green is moved regularly both to distribute the wear on the putting green and to change the line of putt to the hole from around the green. Hazards in the form of sand bunkers need raking and grooming to place them in the best condition for play.
The conventional way of placing and moving a putting cup on a putting green has been to use a hand powered cutting tool that takes a core from the putting green. In the usual procedure of moving a putting cup, the liner is removed from the hole that has been in use and then a new hole is hand cut taking a core from the new hole, that core is placed in the old hole and the liner that was in use is placed in the new hole. When cutting a new hole, it is the greenskeeper that attempts to keep all holes and therefore all cups the same vertical dimension. While there is no standard, the hole that is cut may vary from about 4 inches to about 81/2 inches. The liner placed in the hole is, however, to be placed in accord with the rules with its top 1 inch from the turf surface. Because there is no uniformity in hand cut holes, there is sometimes a need to fill or remove soil from a cut hole to bring the replaced core to the level of the putting green.
The greenskeeper that cut the new hole is also responsible for attempting to keep the new hole in a vertical plumb axis and to maintain the putting green surface around the newly placed putting cup. It is important to the pleasure of the golf game that the putting green surface is not damaged in the placement of the putting cup and that the putting cup is always the same depth within the subsurface.
The conventional way of maintaining a sand bunker has been to rake the surface in preparation for a day's play. Powered equipment has been developed to rake and "fluff" the sand. None are known that are mounted on a combination greenskeeping machine and a trap maintenance machine.
Most golf courses include hazards along the turf areas and around the putting surfaces and those hazards usually include sand areas commonly known as sand traps. The perimeters of the sand traps are usually irregular and their surface contours are usually not flat. Frequently the sand traps are at a different elevation from that of the surrounding turf area whether that surface is a putting green or a fairway, and there is usually some contoured area between the edges of the trap and the turf area. While some hazards include hard or crusted surfaces, the usual sand trap includes a somewhat soft layer of sand that supports a golf ball but prevents it from rolling easily. Golfers using a golf course prefer a well maintained hazard and the courtesies of golf play requires that the surface of the hazard be returned to its original condition when a golfer has had to enter the hazard to advance a golf ball. The quality of a golf course is frequently measured in the quality of the maintenance of its turf areas and its hazards.
Maintenance of a sand trap hazard is a daily routine for the greenskeeping crew of a golf course. Use and off-hour maintenance of a golf course frequently leaves the sand traps in rough condition. Hand grooming of a said trap can be difficult and time consuming and may require a large crew of greenskeepers to keep all hazards in desirable condition. Mechanized equipment for grooming said traps and hazards are known, but none are known to the present inventor that are adapted to easily follow the contour and perimeter of a sand trap behind a mobile apparatus. The present invention is directed to a golf course groomer that can be transported between hazards and can enter the hazard to groom its surface in a quick and expeditious manner.